Friday, 28 September 2012

Chickpea, Kale and Corn Burritos

As I left for work today there was a clap of thunder, a flash of lightning and the rain poured down. Just right for my mood. It has been a sad week. In our house we have been missing Dolly. In the news has been the terrible news of Jill Meagher, an Irish woman living in Melbourne who disappeared when walking home from a nightclub. A week later she was found murdered. Such a random senseless sad death.

I would take more delight in finding this glorious purple kale, if it were not for it reminding me of the farmers market where Dolly disappeared without a trace. It is unlike any kale I have seen before. The kale to which I am accustomed goes by the various names of Tuscan kale, black kale and cavolo nero. It has stems that are soft enough to eat. This purple kale looks pretty but the stalks are so tough they must be discarded.

The recipe is adapted from the Chickpea, Swiss Chard and Sweet Potato from Eats Well with Others. I have been admiring Joanne's picture which I pinned to Pinterest. My top photo is an homage to a glorious image. I wish I had had sweet potatoes but used other vegies instead. I had thought I had some feta to use but it was too wilted. The cheddar cheese didn't add much. Some chunks of avocado would have been a better addition. Despite this, I loved this dish. It was a satisfying dinner and made wonderful leftovers for work lunches.

Lastly, I have signed up to Vegan Mofo again because I enjoyed it last year. I swithered about doing it because I was worried I wouldn't have enough time to commit to it. Then I decided that if I tried to do at least 20 post in the months (rather than every day like I did last year) it was achievable. It does mean spending time looking at new blogs, which will put the squeeze on visiting my regular blogs. But you will get to see lots of delicious vegan food.

I have already started experimenting. Above is a vegan mofo teaser. Yes it is covered in dairy cheese. I have a vegan version that I will share soon. Can you guess what sort of pizza it is?

Heat olive oil in a large frypan and fry onion, carrot, parsnip and garlic for about 10 minutes or until softening. Add green capsicum, zucchini and corn kernels. Fry about 5 minutes. Stir in smoked paprika, salt, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and chicpeas. Cook for about 5-10 minutes until kale is wilted into dark shadows.

When kale mixture is almost ready, heat a medium frypan over medium high heat. Spray with olive oil. Place a tortilla on the frypan for 30 seconds (or until brown heat spots appear on the underside) and then turn and heat on other side for about 30 seconds.

Place warm tortilla on a dinner plate. Spoon over the kale mixture. Scatter with grated cheese and chopped tomatoes. Eat either with the tortilla wrapped around the filling (the messy way) or with a knife and fork (the posh way).

As an Aussie I too felt the abject sadness of Jill's death. Have you thought about making some posters of Dolly and putting them up at the markets? You just never know, it might result in Dolly being returned to the fold? It's worth a try :)

I've got Kale in everything right now; after a bit of a hiatus over summer here, it's back and so am I. Did you try Kale chips? I've been reading of people doing them and they look intriguing.. Also, what is 'swithered' (guess I could look it up!) Just surprised as and eng-lit graduate I've never heard of that word before.

Thanks Adam - I don't buy kale often enough to put it in everything but as it becomes more available I use it more. I still haven't tried kale chips - I think it is partly because kale is still a little mysterious to me but one day

(and swithered means sort of thought about it in a way that I couldn't make up my mind, a bit like dither - it is a word I discovered in scotland and loved - but never came across it when I studied eng lit)

I am so glad you found purple kale! And burritos sound like a wonderful way to use it. I'm glad you're doing vegan MoFo too...I was inspired enough by you and Mel to sign up despite not being home until 5 days into October. I'm still a little unsure how I'll work it, but I'm sure I'll be keen to spend time in the kitchen when we're home so I'm thinking that I'll have a skewed month of posting and put remaining travel on hold until November :P

Thanks Jac - I think they are just as good without the cheese. Hope all of you enjoy them.

The murder of Jill Meagher has raised many issues about safety in our city, the role of social media in the criminal system and many questions about why such things happen - people are expressing themselves with marches, flowers and graffiti. I just keep thinking of how terrible it must be for her husband and family

I'm so glad to hear you are doing MoFo again! I was unsure about the commitment this year as I haven't had as much time for blogging lately but thought I would give it a go as it was a lot of fun last year and I already had a theme planned.

What a sad week! The murder is terrible, it makes me angry and very very sad. I love the look of the purple kale, but well, as you said, the associations aren't the happiest ... :( Your burritos looks wonderful though!

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Recipes and reflections in which our vegetarian heroine dreams of being tall and graceful as a giraffe; being a goddess in the kitchen; and being gladdened by green gadgets, green food and green politics because green is the colour of hope. See About Me for more info.